James Cameron Isn’t Just Focused on Avatar 2, But Also on Avatar 3, 4, and 5 (Remember Avatar? From 2009? Yeah.)

When you remember that there’s four more Avatar films coming pic.twitter.com/USvndaIs7m

— Avatar (@officialavatar) January 23, 2017

@officialavatar pic.twitter.com/aMfuPDZiTK

— Steffen Stø (@TVMaury) January 23, 2017

Remember Avatar? Remember how James Cameron is planning to not only make a sequel, but an entire pentalogy of Avatar movies? It’s something that we all-too-easily forget in this day and age, probably because the first Avatar movie came out in 2009, and no one is thinking about it anymore.

No one except entertainment reporters, anyway. The looming presence of future Avatar movies came up in a recent interview James Cameron did at The Daily Beast; seems like the holdup happened because Mr. Cameron wanted to finish writing the entire pentalogy before starting to film Avatar 2. Apparently, has has actually (finally?) completed writing all of the scripts for the rest of the movies in the pentalogy:

“The thing is, my focus isn’t on Avatar 2. My focus is on Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 equally. That’s exactly how I’m approaching it. They’ve all been developed equally. I’ve just finished the script to Avatar 5. I’m now starting the process of active prep. I’ll be working with the actors in the capture volume in August, so I’m booked in production every day between now and then. Our volume is up and running, and everything is designed, and so we’re going full-guns right now. I feel like I’ve been let out of jail, because I’ve been in the writing cave for the last two years. I’m actually enjoying life. I don’t enjoy writing. I wouldn’t wish writing on a dog.”

I wouldn’t wish writing on a dog, either. Dogs have a great life. How do I get a job as a dog? Sorry, I got distracted because I don’t want to think about what could possibly happen in four more Avatar movies. Cameron doesn’t actually specify what the following movies will be about, by the way… but, a whole bunch of events must be unfolding, if they’re going to take up the space of five movies. I guess it took him roughly seven years to figure out what those events should be.

It seems likely that the following few films will be about climate change, given the pro-environmental themes of the first Avatar, and given James Cameron’s own personal interest in environmental causes. He had this to say about that topics:

“A lot of my work that’s not specifically on the Avatar films—my activism—is around climate, and sustainability, and sustainable land use, and sustainable agriculture, but climate is number one. Years ago, we sort of spotted the iceberg ahead of us and we called out the order to turn, and we’ve been slowly, slowly, slowly trying to turn this big-ass ship to not hit the iceberg, and then Trump grabbed the tiller and just plunged it right back at the center of the iceberg. So am I worried? Of course.”

James Cameron is saying something pretty serious here, but he also managed to throw in what is clearly a reference to his mega-blockbuster Titanic. Either that, or he just sees everything in his life in terms of icebergs. That seems fair.

Anyway, I hope Avatar 5 will be a compelling statement about climate science. I’m looking forward to seeing it in the year 2395, assuming our planet still exists by then. Maybe I’ll catch the Pandoran screening… I should be due to awaken from cryonic hibernation by the time the pentalogy is completed.

(via Birth Movies Death)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google+.